Living Stem Cells Discovered in 17-Day-Old Human Corpses

Below:

Next story in Science

Stem cells can remain alive in human corpses for at least 17 days
after death, researchers say.

Stem cells give rise to all other cells in the body, a property
that makes them extraordinarily valuable in potential therapies.
These potent cells are often rare, only present in small numbers
in tissue samples from patients and difficult to distinguish from
other cell types in many cases. As such, scientists are
investigating novel ways to procure stem
cells and improve the viability of the ones they can get.

Past research had suggested that stem cells could actually
survive in up to 2-day-old cadavers, but researchers had thought
that
dead bodies would be poor homes for any cells, lacking the
oxygen and nutrients the body's cells need to stay alive.
Nevertheless, histologist and neuropathologist Fabrice Chrétien
at the Pasteur Institute in Paris and his colleagues were curious
to see how long stem cells might keep ticking after a person
died.

The researchers only had access to remains 17 days old,
suggesting they have not yet seen the limits that stem cells ca
reach. "Maybe they can also resist longer," Chrétien told
LiveScience.

The cadavers in question had been kept at 39 degrees F (4 degrees
C) to keep from rotting. The stem cells the researchers isolated
give rise to skeletal muscle, the kind connected to the bones, as
opposed to the kind in the heart or other internal organs.
[ The
Science of Death: 10 Tales from the Crypt & Beyond ]

Apparently the stem cells were able survive in the total absence
of oxygen. "These cells are so resistant to extreme and
deleterious conditions that they stay alive up to 17 days after
death," Chrétien said.

The researchers also recovered
viable stem cells from mice 14 days after death. These cells
appeared to function properly after they were transplanted into
living mice, helping regenerate damaged tissues.

Although these findings could suggest that old cadavers could
supply stem cells for therapies, "we are not saying that we will
use old cadavers for treating patients," Chrétien stressed. "For
clinical applications we don't have to wait so long, but just
obtain cells from cadavers only a few hours after death."

These stem cells in both dead mice and human corpses were dormant
when discovered, with extraordinarily reduced metabolic activity,
marking the first time scientists have found that stem cells were
capable of such dormancy. The researchers suspect that chemicals
given off after death, or the low levels of oxygen or
nutrients in corpses, or a combination of all these factors,
could have sent the stem cells into dormancy, helping them
survive for weeks.

A better understanding of this dormancy could help lead to new
ways to keep stem cells viable for longer periods for therapeutic
purposes. They could also shed light on how cells in general
respond to injuries and other traumas, Chrétien said.